Vengeful Considerations
by De Ore Leonis
Summary: Dark Ace is obsessed with the only person to have ever defeated him. Aerrow is harbouring a guilty secret. When a simple confrontation ends in a complex manner, well, they fight of course. At least initially.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Storm Hawks

**Warnings: **Rated for a reason, explicit male/male scenes

**Vengeful Consideration**

It was supposed to be a simple operation. Explore the ancient ruins, retrieve any crystals and get out. Piper had assured them that the ruins had been abandoned ages ago. Stork insisted that a lack of inhabitants in no way guaranteed a lack of brain slugs.

The ruins themselves were part of a large fragmented Terra that had been split into a confounding chain of hundreds of smaller Terras through some unknown disaster. Even Piper didn't know if it had happened during a by-gone war or if the event had been a natural process.

The Storm Hawks made their way through the labyrinth archipelago, looking for the remains of buildings which might contain unique crystals. They encountered neither beings nor creatures and the entire area seemed devoid of life. Of course a simple operation was something the Storm Hawks had yet to encounter. They found a few crystals, granted, but they were mostly common forms and of relatively low power. Piper was still delighted and the crew was pleased for her. The difficulty occurred when they tried to return to the Condor.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a group of Talons soared down to engage. They were led by the Talon commander himself, the Dark Ace. Naturally, Dark Ace gravitated towards Aerrow. The constant challenge that each presented, and the defeat that Dark Ace had suffered at the Sky Knight's hand, had led to an obsession between the opponents as each strove to beat the other. The two foes were inseparable on any battlefield.

They flew toward one another with an unreasonable display of ferocity. Their skimmers slammed together. Ordinarily, the streamline designs were coordinated to avoid this, but the modifications of both Aerrow's and Dark Ace's skimmers caused them to wedge together. The opponents stared at one another in shock before Dark Ace's expression broke into a snarl.

"Pull back, boy!" he demanded.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm stuck. But I'm happy to cut myself free," Aerrow replied with equal venom. He hefted his glowing weapons. Dark Ace leapt onto Aerrow's skimmer, landing gracefully in front of his nemesis. His own blade crackled with energy.

"If you so much as _graze_ my skimmer–" Dark Ace growled.

Aerrow whipped his blades around at shoulder height, but the Talon Commander blocked him with almost contemptuous ease.

"Do you really think you're a match for me, Sky Knight?" he spat.

"Well there _was_ that time I beat you–" Aerrow retorted.

Dark Ace bared his teeth and swung at Aerrow. The Sky Knight dodged and they resumed their fight. Both of them were too absorbed by their confrontation to recall that their skimmers were stuck. They also failed to realise that the crash configuration was hardly aerodynamic. Their wreck began plummeting but they were too absorbed to notice.

"Aerrow!" Piper screamed.

The redhead looked up and realised his predicament. He gasped. Dark Ace took in their situation a heartbeat later. He paled. They prepared to jump and activate their gliders, but it was too late. They crashed into one of the myriad small Terras as the fight raged overhead.

(-)

Dark Ace recovered first. Physical strain meant very little to him. The commander was surprised when his opponent staggered upright only moments after he had reactivated the fire crystal in his blade.

Aerrow shook his head and then activated his own twin blades. Dark Ace smiled. It wasn't the ideal situation for a fight, but at least there would be no interruptions. There would also be no backup to complicate things. Dark Ace and Aerrow rarely fought in isolation that pitted skill against skill. Often their combat was merely set up to occupy one another while a larger plan was being played out on the ground.

They tested one another. It didn't take Dark Ace long to realise that Aerrow was favouring his left leg. This annoyed him. Since his first… defeat, he had been focused on beating the errant Sky Knight properly. Master Cyclonis cared little for his personal investment and insisted on him disposing of Aerrow with a minimum of effort. She was ultimately pragmatic, without any consideration for his rage and pride. But Dark Ace needed to beat Aerrow, to humiliate the young Sky Knight that had dared tarnish his reputation. A part of him knew it was irrational, but the Talon commander often gave into his impulses.

It was this trait that often gave him an edge in combat. His intuition during battle was unmatched. It allowed him to sense his opponents' patterns and it made him unpredictable. It was what had allowed him to take down an entire squadron of Rex Guardians in record time.

The problem with Aerrow was that a lot of his 'training' was completely informal and acquired during his missions. He improvised with moves that the Dark Ace had never seen before. Granted, they didn't always work, but it made Aerrow difficult to gauge. The Dark Ace tempered his impulses with skill and experience. Aerrow just threw himself around with the careless invincibility of youth.

Still, it was a good fight. It would have been better in the air, but Dark Ace was willing to forgo that particular pleasure in order to fight Aerrow without any distractions. The commander actually avoided pressing Aerrow on his wounded leg. It would have brought the fight to a premature close and it wasn't fitting.

Then the Sky Knight decided to do something rather foolish. Perhaps he had sensed that Dark Ace had been holding back and wanted to draw him into a proper confrontation. Perhaps it was sheer unthinking stupidity. Either way, Aerrow attempted to trap Dark Ace's blade with his own weapons.

For a second it was a stalemate. Neither party could disengage from the clash. It was an odd echo of their skimmer accident and Dark Ace felt a feral smile tug at his lips. In this position, raw strength would be pitted against raw strength. Aerrow was a good fighter. He knew how to use his speed and agility, but Dark Ace was undeniably larger and stronger.

The commander paused and allowed Aerrow to try and push him back. Then slowly, inexorably, he bore down on his smaller opponent. Aerrow's eyes widened in shock as he was steadily forced back. Clearly he had not anticipated the imbalance. He was forced to take a step backward; his left leg suddenly shaking as it was forced to take the pressure. Aerrow didn't flinch, but the pain distracted him and gave the commander ample opportunity to disarm him.

With a flick of his wrist, Dark Ace sent Aerrow's weapons arching over toward the wrecked skimmers. A flicker in his green eyes betrayed Aerrow's objective. He dived to the side, intent on reclaiming his weapons. Dark Ace was faster and wrapped his free hand around Aerrow's throat and tugged him forward and off balance. It was a risk, of course. Aerrow could strike out, kick him or even drive a foot into his instep. But Dark Ace followed his instincts and kept his blade up near Aerrow's face.

Luckily the Sky Knight was smart enough to realise that any unexpected movement on his part was a bad idea. It would likely end in an unfortunate accident with so much fire-crystal energy crackling so near his face. Despite a grudging wariness, the redhead glared back at the Dark Ace with unconcealed anger.

"Strike already!" Aerrow demanded.

Dark Ace couldn't help it. The sheer defiant bravado of the demand was too amusing. He uttered a burst of manic laughter. He was lucky that the Sky Knight was too puzzled to take advantage of his distraction.

"Oh no, Aerrow. When I kill you it is going to be in front of an audience and you won't have an injured leg to sour my victory," Dark Ace explained.

Aerrow scowled.

Adrenaline was still pounding through the commander's system even after the physical exertion. He was enjoying the feeling of having Aerrow at his mercy. Once again acting on impulse, Dark Ace drew his captive closer and bit down on Aerrow's bottom lip. He drew back with a laugh, noting that Aerrow was now thoroughly perplexed and even a little fearful.

"What's the matter, Aerrow?" Dark Ace taunted.

"I don't know what you're playing at, but if you're not going to kill me you can let me go."

Dark Ace shrugged and dropped Aerrow to the ground. The young Sky Knight collapsed as weight was placed on his injured leg. Then he scowled up at his opponent. It was a rather pretty sight. Dark Ace narrowed his eyes at the unusual thought and blamed it on the adrenalin.

He stalked over to the skimmers and tried his communicator. It was too damaged to function. He went over to try Aerrow's and ignored the squawk of protest this elicited. Aerrow's communicator was in no better condition than his own. He sighed. Without contact, neither of them would be located for quite some time. The archipelago they had crashed into contained hundreds of non-descript Terras.

"Well, unless you have a backup communicator, we're going to be stuck here for the night, at least, and likely longer," Dark Ace explained.

Aerrow got to his feet, wary of his enemy's abrupt change in mood.

"I suggest a truce," the commander continued.

Aerrow's eyes narrowed. "How can I trust you?" he asked.

"You can't, obviously. However, we've already established that I can defeat you with little to no effort at this point and if I wanted to kill or maim you, I would have done so."

Aerrow was reassured despite himself. He knew he was at Dark Ace's mercy, so he might as well play nice while the commander was feeling cooperative.

"Fine. Truce," Aerrow conceded and offer his hand.

Dark Ace looked down at Aerrow's hand and snorted. "How quaint. I'm going get some wood for a fire. You may prepare a site. Hopefully your wound will be able to stand the strain."

Aerrow glared before turning his back and looking for a likely place to settle. It was a small Terra. There wouldn't be many options.

(-)

Dark Ace admitted that the Sky Knight had chosen a reasonable site. It was free of flammable debris. Across the fire from where Dark Ace sat, there was fallen log for Aerrow to sit against. Dark Ace didn't really care about that. His primary concern was sitting close to the fire. He was used to the perpetually hot and stormy Terra Cyclonis. While the weather was not too cold in objective terms, Dark Ace felt chilled and his mood reflected his discomfort. He noticed Aerrow's gaze flicking across the fire. At first he assumed that the young Sky Knight was keeping alert in anticipation of an attack, but his gaze held a more contemplative quality, rather than suspicion.

"What?" Dark Ace snapped when Aerrow's gaze slid over once more.

"Nothing," Aerrow replied sullenly, but he turned his face away. The flames brought out the red tones in his hair.

"Spit it out, Sky Knight."

Aerrow watched the ground for a few moments. Then he met Dark Ace's eyes in the spirit of challenge. "Why did you… bite me like that? In the fight?" Aerrow demanded.

Dark Ace's lips curved upward. The defensive note in Aerrow's tone was improving his mood by the second.

"Well, I hardly could have kissed you, now could I? Besides, in the midst of battle, I'm not inclined to play nice."

Aerrow gaped. Dark Ace laughed. He was amused by the other's reaction. It was the main reason that he phrased his answer the way he did. He wasn't going to tell Aerrow that he was acting on impulse, let alone that he found the young Sky Knight, the only one to have beaten him, rather attractive. In all honesty, it was more obsession than affection, but the lust was there nonetheless.

Aerrow was now blushing. Dark Ace felt his smirk broaden. He rose gracefully to his feet and stalked around the edge of the fire. Aerrow tensed, but he didn't try to rise. He doubted his injured leg would support him properly and he really didn't want to show any weakness before his foe.

Dark Ace stopped a few steps from Aerrow and grinned down at him. Aerrow didn't turn his gaze toward the other, but kept his eyes focused on the fire, trying to ignore the intrusion. The firelight flashed dully against the Sky Knight's armour. Gouts of sparks were thrown into the air whenever a branch snapped beneath its own weight. Aerrow never flinched at the implicit threat of the embers. When the black haired commander made no further move, Aerrow glared upwards, defiance and challenge permeating his gaze.

"What?" The Sky Knight demanded.

As a reply, Dark Ace closed the gap between them and sat. He threw an arm around Aerrow's shoulders and his grin took on a harder edge. Aerrow tried to throw the arm off his shoulder, but the grip tightened.

"Get off me, Dark Ace," he growled.

"Doesn't it occur to you to be frightened, Aerrow?"

The Sky Knight snorted. "Of course not. You're not going to do anything."

Dark Ace leaned in closer. "And why not?"

Aerrow met the Talon's ruby gaze without flinching. "I don't know if you're actually insane enough to want something like this or if you're just trying to make a nuisance of yourself. Either way, you wouldn't just take what you wanted. It wouldn't be enough for you."

Dark Ace's eyes widened and then he laughed. "Very perceptive, Sky Knight. Anyone can take what they want. _Snipe_ can take what he wants." A flash of disdain crossed Dark Ace's countenance as he mentioned the barbarous warrior. "_I_ on the other hand will get exactly what I want and it will be freely given."

Aerrow glared. "What makes you so sure, other than your overwhelming arrogance?"

Dark Ace's gaze slid down from Aerrow's eyes, to his lap, and then back up again. "Because you're not the only perceptive one, Aerrow," he replied mildly.

Aerrow tore Dark Ace's arm off his shoulder and pushed himself away from the commander. He was blushing almost as brightly as his hair. The commander's laughter rang discordantly in his ears.

"I don't-" Aerrow began.

"Don't be obtuse, Aerrow. There are a lot of things you admire about me. It's perfectly understandable."

Aerrow glared. "You are so full of yourself."

"I have every right to be. Until you came along I was undefeated. Until you and your crew made a mockery of me, I was a legend!" Dark Ace snarled.

Aerrow recoiled. For the first time that evening he was just a little afraid. The Dark Ace could be extremely volatile. Both males watched each other in silence. After a few moments, Dark Ace got to his feet and stomped off to his side of the fire.

(-)

Aerrow's heart thudded in his chest as he watched Dark Ace return to his side of the fire. The firelight cast deep shadows over the Talon's retreating form. The conversation had worried the Sky Knight. He was attracted to Dark Ace and had been for some time. It was something that he had hoped had remained hidden. A secret attraction was one thing, to have been found out by his enemy was another thing all together. Aerrow consoled himself that Dark Ace wouldn't try anything without an invitation.

Feeling miserable and more than a little humiliated, Aerrow moved closer to the fire and curled up. It was undeniably cold. The Sky Knight cast his gaze over to where his enemy lay. Dark Ace shivered on the other side of the fire. The man was too stubborn to curl up and was instead stretched out on his back. Aerrow debated with himself for most of an hour. He swallowed. They were in a truce and a sense of compassion moved the Sky Knight to render what assistance he could. Well… mostly compassion.

With a sigh, the redhead got to his feet, favouring his injured leg and moved around the fire to where Dark Ace lay. The Talon commander's eyes seemed even bloodier in the glow of the fire and he watched Aerrow's movements warily.

Without comment, Aerrow stretched out beside his foe, wincing as his leg twinged. Dark Ace's expression was inscrutable as he watched the other. Without breaking the silence, the commander stretched out his arm to give Aerrow something to lean his head against.

Aerrow observed the extended arm with narrowed eyes. When his gaze sought out Dark Ace's face, the commander merely raised an eyebrow. Grumbling quietly to himself, Aerrow pillowed his head on Dark Ace's arm and moved in closer to share their meagre body warmth.

They lay like that in silence, neither willing to shatter the fragile truce. The silence helped to keep things stable and allowed both parties their pride. It was Aerrow who moved first. The impetuous nature of his youth gave him little patience. The Sky Knight turned his face towards Dark Ace's and gave him a peck on the lips before quickly rolling over and hoping that the darkness would disguise his blush.

Dark Ace was too stunned to respond immediately. Despite his words he was surprised at his opponent's brashness. He grinned in the darkness for a moment before shifting on his side and placing a light kiss on Aerrow's neck.

The younger male shuddered at the unfamiliar touch. Dark Ace's fingertips whispered over his side and under his shirt. Then he stopped. Aerrow gave a whine of protest and turned toward the grinning Talon.

"What now?" the Sky Knight complained.

"If you want this to go any further you're going to have to ask for it, Aerrow."

"What?" Aerrow demanded indignantly. "This is about power isn't it? Is everything about power with you?"

Dark Ace's grin broadened. "Let's see, I change sides in the middle of a war to go over to the stronger side. I serve a girl who is younger than myself because she wields more crystal-mediated power than any living being. I have trained myself to be the greatest fighter in the air and obsess about victory over my foes. What do you think?" he asked sarcastically.

Aerrow muttered something unsavoury. "Fine. Please, Dark Ace. I want this."

The Talon commander smirked. "Glad to hear it. But you should know I don't just want this for the sake of power. I deem you to be worthy, considering your abilities."

"Worthy? Wow, you are really, really full of yourself," Aerrow laughed.

Dark Ace shrugged as best he could from his supine position. "We'll see about that, Aerrow."

When the black haired male resumed his activities, his touch was firmer and more insistent. He pushed Aerrow onto his back and trailed kisses up the Sky Knight's jaw line to his lips. Dark Ace's tongue swiped across the mark he had left on Aerrow's lower lip when he had bit him. Aerrow's lips parted in a gasp and Dark Ace took the opportunity to taste his opponent.

Aerrow's hips jerked upwards and Dark Ace rolled his own downward, pressing the Sky Knight to the ground and holding him in place. Dark Ace's graceful fingers made quick work of the redhead's armour. He stroked Aerrow's chest underneath his top and smirked at the way muscles twitched and tensed beneath his fingertips. Aerrow bucked upward again. It was too cold for either of them to remove their clothes, despite the heat they generated between each other.

Dark Ace noted their surroundings with distaste. "Well, this is hardly ideal, but I suppose we can work _something_ out," he conceded.

With that he tugged Aerrow's pants and undergarments down until the bunched around the Sky Knights knees. The Talon commander felt a sense of smug satisfaction at how hard his impromptu partner had become. Aerrow writhed as cold air hit his arousal.

Dark Ace enjoyed the sight for a moment before closing his hand around Aerrow. The Sky Knight shivered and bit his lip. Dark Ace stroked him slowly until Aerrow canted his hips forward in a silent request for more. Dark Ace's eyes gleamed with a strange light and he shifted downward until he could lick at the head of Aerrow's erection. A moan passed the Sky Knights lips as Dark Ace took him in his mouth.

The cool air on Aerrow's thighs contrasted with the delicious heat of the commander's mouth. Dark Ace held his partner still with a merciless grip on his thigh. His fingers pressed in deep enough to bruise. Aerrow shuddered under the flood of sensations.

Dark Ace lifted his head at the last moment and watched Aerrow climax beneath his hand. The Sky Knight's back arched and he cried out as he finished. It was quite a sight. Dark Ace watched Aerrow's parted lips with quiet intensity. He had no desire to take the Sky Knight on the ground and deemed it to be a rather uncomfortable activity.

As if sensing his gaze Aerrow's green eyes flicked over to his recent partner. Those green eyes were glazed with lust and a smirk curved Dark Ace's lips as Aerrow shifted toward him with clear intent. Dark Ace reclined and waited to see what Aerrow would do.

Aerrow seemed a little timid when he uncovered Dark Ace's evident arousal. He licked his lips. Dark Ace watched the redhead with hooded eyes. He wasn't going to intervene. He was struggling not to simply pin the Sky knight down and discomfort be damned.

Aerrow reached forward and gripped his impromptu lover's erection. Dark Ace let his head loll backwards with a sigh. Feeling reassured, the Sky Knight began to stroke him in earnest. Dark Ace allowed a low groan to escape his throat. He felt Aerrow shiver at the sound. He smirked.

It was surprising to feel the Sky Knight give a tentative lick and Dark Ace's breath hitched. Obviously pleased with himself Aerrow began to employ his mouth with enthusiasm, if not a great degree of skill. Still, Dark Ace was pleased with the treatment. Aerrow certainly had a natural rhythm.

The Talon commander threaded a hand through Aerrow's hair, not to direct, per se, but merely to have something to hold onto. Besides, he liked the feel of Aerrow's hair between his fingers. He also used it as a way to warn the Sky Knight, but Aerrow seemed intent on his task and chose to swallow as much as he could. Dark Ace was once again surprised, but far from displeased.

When Aerrow lifted his head, there was a drop of the commander's essence lingering at the corner of his mouth. Dark Ace swiped the drop off with his finger and Aerrow sucked it off, a playful look on his face. Dark Ace swallowed.

They adjusted their garments and lay back, both sated and feeling much warmer too. It was Dark Ace who broke the silence.

"They'll find us sooner or later I suppose. There aren't _that_ many Terras in this cursed archipelago."

Aerrow made a small noise in the back of his throat. "Well, I'm hoping for later."

Dark Ace smiled. It was a sentiment that he could certainly agree with.


End file.
